February flew by in no time, and March will probably drag longer than most months this year – but on the bright side, a longer month means more new physical media releases!
With five weeks of new titles to break down, we won’t waste any more time with the introduction. As always, release dates are correct at the time of writing, but for the most up-to-date information, check our site – there might be last-minute titles added you won’t want to miss out on!
Here’s our week-by-week guide to the 4K, SteelBook and limited-edition Blu-ray titles you need to have on your radar.
Monday, 2nd March
The quietest week of the year so far in terms of quantity, but certainly not in terms of quality, as two banger SteelBooks arrive this week. First up is the 4K restoration of director Mamoru Hosoda’s wonderful 2012 animeWolf Children, and it’s joined on our shelves by the Steel of Edgar Wright’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man.
Arriving in the Criterion Collection this week, an underrated Coen Brothers gem in 4K, their black-and-white tribute to classic nor The Man Who Wasn’t There. The standard edition of the Basket Case 4K arrives from Arrow Video for fans of all things gory and campy, with the label also offering a limited-edition restoration of twisted early 2000s French thriller Calvaire, a blood-splattered, darkly comic thrill ride in the vein of Misery.
Monday, 9th March
Two more SteelBooks are ready to enter your collection; the physical releases of recent blockbuster sequels Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Zootropolis 2, two very different tales of anthropomorphic animals run amok. Also fresh from the cinema is Wicked: For Good, which comes home in glorious 4K this week.
Next up, one of the ultimate teen movies joins the Criterion Collection in 4K: The Breakfast Club! John Hughes’ beloved coming-of-age tale arrives alongside the label’s Ultra HD remaster of the original 3:10 To Yuma.
Arrow Video have a limited-edition remaster of 1970s suspense thriller Black Sunday, the standard edition 4K releases of both Child’s Play sequels, and the Love, Death & Apocalypse 4K boxset of films by controversial Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia, a protege of one Pedro Almodovar. Completing the sets from leading indie labels, 88 Films have vintage JCVD (Maximum Risk) and an unhinged sci-fi about a woman and a talking cat teaming up to fight aliens (The Cat), whilst Treasured Films have the Gialli, Guns and Gore boxset dedicated to the “John Woo of Southampton”, cult filmmaker Darren Ward.
Finally, there are 4K remasters of the original Battlestar Galactica movie, 1950s B-movie favourite It Came From Outer Space, and the first Collector’s Edition set of Naruto Shippunden.
Monday, 16th March
Only one SteelBook is currently on the cards for this week, and it’s another big blockbuster fresh from cinemas: Now You See Me, Now You Don’t. Other fresh titles arriving home in 4K include director Julia Ducournau’s divisive coming-of-age movie Alpha – courtesy of Curzon – and leading Brit filmmaker Ben Wheatley’s defiantly indie Bulk, which Anti-Worlds are giving a physical release after a recent theatrical tour.
As always, Arrow Video spread their releases across the month, and Mel Brooks’ beloved Star Wars piss-take SpaceBalls leads the way in a new Limited Edition 4K set. In terms of cult titles, the unreleased-for-20-years Corey Feldman vehicle The Birthday finally comes home, promising a mix of cosmic horror and dark screwball comedy – sign us up!
88 Films has two more bloodbaths to add to its slasher collection; the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin Sorority House Massacre, and the cinephile stalker killing spree of Fade To Black, with the bonkers Euro western Shango joining them on our shelves courtesy of the label’s main imprint.
Finally, the BFI have the groundbreaking love triangle drama Negatives, Second Run have the forgotten Czech New Wave masterwork Long Live the Republic – a post WWII coming-of-age tale – and series 21 of Doctor Who arrives in another glorious boxset.
Monday, 23rd March
A stacked week for new SteelBooks, with two Christopher Nolan 4K rereleases – The Prestige and Dunkirk – joining the ultimate Collector’s Edition set of Ben-Hur, high-concept Makoto Shinkai anime The Place Promised In Our Early Days, and recent comedy blockbuster Anaconda.
Indicator offer two different 1980s supernatural shockers in 4K Limited Editions this week; the sci-fi murder mystery Dead Kids, and the occult disaster movie The Survivor. For more genre thrills, two titles from the Hammer Studios archives also return to our screen in new Collector’s Editions: Fear in the Night, starring Joan Collins as the new employee of a haunted boarding school, and Spaceways, an espionage tale set against the backdrop of the space race.
Radiance have a far bloodier selection of 4K titles than usual this month, with the arthouse label offering the Underworld Chronicles boxset of Yakuza thrillers from beloved Japanese madman Takashi Miike, a twisted 80s tale of a director who dramatises a killing he committed (Special Effects), and the Jeff Bridges revenge thriller Cutter’s Way.
Finally, 88 Films offer restorations of two cult offerings from Japanese director Mika Ninagawa; subversive geisha tale Sakuran, and satirical beauty industry thriller Helter Skelter.
Monday, 30th March
Closing out March, the now sold out Ultimate Collector’s Edition SteelBook of Casino will be dispatching – check back to see if copies become available – alongside newer releases including The Housemaid, Dragon Ball Super: Broly – The Movie, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search For Squarepants. Something for everyone!
For horror fans, there’s a great selection of 4K restorations this week, including the Collector’s Edition Dracula Legacy boxset featuring the original 6 Universal Monsters outings, a Cult Films 4K of Suspiria overseen by Dario Argento himself, and new Arrow titles including a limited edition Salem’s Lot set. Also arriving this week from Arrow, a new Hard Boiled 4K set, and a limited-edition boxset of Eiichi Kudo's Samurai Revolution Trilogy.
Staying in Japan for a second, two must-have anime boxsets this week are the Solo Levelling Season 2 – Arise from the Shadow Limited Edition, and the Spy x Family Code: White – Collector's Edition. For animated adventures from the other side of the world, Kung Fu Panda 4 arrives in 4K, closing out the recent slate of franchise rereleases.
88 Films only have one release this week, the 1980s stripper serial killer movie Stripped to Kill, but fans of sleaze should rejoice that Severin have two 4K restorations from Italian horndog Jess Franco, the man dubbed by the Vatican “the most dangerous director in the world”. Erotic horror movies Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy both live up to the promises of their titles.
